John Calvin Adds Things That Aren't In The Bible
This is a section from my post "Problems in John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion." I wanted to break that long post up into smaller sections long ago, but I never got around to it, until now.
And on top of that, Calvin goes a bit above and beyond what Genesis 8:21 says. In the NASB Bible, it simply says, "the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth." Not "every ... only ... continually." It's simply that our natural tendency is towards evil, not - as Calvin and Calvinists say - that we are completely incapable of doing, thinking, or wanting anything good (even wanting God in our lives), unless God makes us do it. That's adding things to the verse that aren't there. In fact, no version I checked said it like Calvin did. I'm not sure what version of the Bible he used, but why don't any of our other translations say it the way he did, if he is right in the way he's saying it? And if you have to add words to the Bible that aren't there, could it be because you are trying to support a teaching that isn't there? Just because we have a tendency towards something, doesn't mean it has to happen and that we are incapable of doing anything else. We can have intentions to do one thing, but choose to do another.
This is Point #4 from the original post:
Calvin adds things that aren't in the Bible (at least not in our translations of the Bible).
Such as (these are just a couple examples), in Book 1, Chapter 16, section 5, he refers to Matthew 10:29 by saying, "Not a sparrow falls to the ground without the will of his Father." However, he basically added the word "will," which makes it sound more like God willed the sparrow to die, that every time anything happens it's because God actively willed it to happen. But there is only one translation I can find that has the word "Father's will" in it, the World English translation. Every other one just says something like "apart from the Father" or "the Father's permission" or "the Father's knowledge." The general consensus is that no sparrow dies without the Father knowing about it, being aware of it, allowing it. NOT that God causes each and every sparrow's death exactly when and how it happens. But Calvin uses "by the Father's will" to support the idea that God wills each and every thing that happens.
In section 9, Calvin makes a very interesting assessment. He basically says that if someone wanders from their group in a woods and is killed by robbers, his death was not just foreseen by God but had been "fixed by His decree." (Let's ignore the fact that Calvin called the man "imprudent" for wandering away on his own, and that "imprudence" is about not showing care for the consequences of an action. However, if, as Calvin says, we don't have any control over our actions anyway because God causes all the things we do, then "imprudence" or "prudence" is a non-existent concept. How careful we are in making our decisions matters not when God is actually making our decisions for us.)
Anyway, Calvin uses Job 14:5 to support this idea that God doesn't just foresee the length of our lives but that He controls and orchestrates the circumstances of our deaths. However, this is going above what Job 14:5 says: "Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed." Just because God knows the length of our lives and has set limits, doesn't mean He causes our deaths to happen as they do. Calvin adds meaning to the verse that isn't there. (And doesn't setting "limits he cannot exceed" imply some sort of roaming freedom within those limits?)
(So, Calvin, God determines the events of our deaths, huh? So then what about suicide? Has God determined who commits suicide, when and how they do it, causing them to kill themselves? Interesting!)
Also, I believe that Calvin errs when he uses the desperate, cry of a hurting man (Job) as Gospel truth about God. Just because Job said it in his pain, doesn't make it Gospel truth. If that were the case, these gems would also be Gospel truth:
Job 12:6: "Those who provoke God are secure..." (Are they really!?!)
Job 12:7-8: "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you." (Anybody ever ask the animals a question and get a verbal answer in response? Anybody? Anybody? Job is saying that we can learn about God from nature, but some people could use this to teach witchcraft or New-Age-type worship of Mother Earth, if they wanted to.)
We have to be careful about twisting verses to say what we want them to say and to support the ideas we want them to support. (I'm looking at you, John Calvin!)
And, jumping ahead a little, in Book 2, Chapter 2, Section 27, Calvin tries to support his idea of "total depravity" - that men are so depraved and fallen that we are incapable of having any good thoughts or desires or actions unless God causes us to - by quoting two verses. One is "every imagination of man's heart is only evil continually" (Genesis 8:21) and "we are incapable of thinking a good thought" (2 Corinthian 3:6).
Anyway, Calvin uses Job 14:5 to support this idea that God doesn't just foresee the length of our lives but that He controls and orchestrates the circumstances of our deaths. However, this is going above what Job 14:5 says: "Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed." Just because God knows the length of our lives and has set limits, doesn't mean He causes our deaths to happen as they do. Calvin adds meaning to the verse that isn't there. (And doesn't setting "limits he cannot exceed" imply some sort of roaming freedom within those limits?)
(So, Calvin, God determines the events of our deaths, huh? So then what about suicide? Has God determined who commits suicide, when and how they do it, causing them to kill themselves? Interesting!)
Also, I believe that Calvin errs when he uses the desperate, cry of a hurting man (Job) as Gospel truth about God. Just because Job said it in his pain, doesn't make it Gospel truth. If that were the case, these gems would also be Gospel truth:
Job 12:6: "Those who provoke God are secure..." (Are they really!?!)
Job 13:24: "Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?" (Did God really think of Job as an enemy? Or was Job actually highly favored by God and respected by God? Just because Job cried it doesn't make it true.)
Job 9:13: "God does not restrain his anger..." (Never? Never ever? So God is always acting out in anger, always giving full vent to His anger, never acting in mercy? Wow, that's a mighty big accusation to level against God, that He does not restrain His anger.)
Job 9:23: "... he mocks the despair of the innocent." (Does He? Does He really? What kind of a monster God would that make Him?)
Job 16:12-14: "All was well with me, but [God] shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target; his archers surround me. Without pity, he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground. Again and again he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior." (So is all this "Gospel Truth" about God? Or is it just the cry of a hurting man?)
Job 9:13: "God does not restrain his anger..." (Never? Never ever? So God is always acting out in anger, always giving full vent to His anger, never acting in mercy? Wow, that's a mighty big accusation to level against God, that He does not restrain His anger.)
Job 9:23: "... he mocks the despair of the innocent." (Does He? Does He really? What kind of a monster God would that make Him?)
Job 16:12-14: "All was well with me, but [God] shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target; his archers surround me. Without pity, he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground. Again and again he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior." (So is all this "Gospel Truth" about God? Or is it just the cry of a hurting man?)
Job 12:7-8: "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you." (Anybody ever ask the animals a question and get a verbal answer in response? Anybody? Anybody? Job is saying that we can learn about God from nature, but some people could use this to teach witchcraft or New-Age-type worship of Mother Earth, if they wanted to.)
We have to be careful about twisting verses to say what we want them to say and to support the ideas we want them to support. (I'm looking at you, John Calvin!)
And, jumping ahead a little, in Book 2, Chapter 2, Section 27, Calvin tries to support his idea of "total depravity" - that men are so depraved and fallen that we are incapable of having any good thoughts or desires or actions unless God causes us to - by quoting two verses. One is "every imagination of man's heart is only evil continually" (Genesis 8:21) and "we are incapable of thinking a good thought" (2 Corinthian 3:6).
Umm ... here's the thing ... 2 Corinthians 3:6 says "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." Okay, so maybe someone just got his Scripture reference wrong, but I can't find the "incapable of good thoughts" verse anywhere. Does anyone else know where it is? And I am not talking about a verse that says we tend to think bad things, but one that says we are "incapable of thinking any good thoughts," as Calvin asserts. I even tried looking up "incapable" and "think/thinking" and "good" and "thought/thoughts" in my concordance, and I can't find any verse in the New Testament that seems to fit what he's saying.
And on top of that, Calvin goes a bit above and beyond what Genesis 8:21 says. In the NASB Bible, it simply says, "the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth." Not "every ... only ... continually." It's simply that our natural tendency is towards evil, not - as Calvin and Calvinists say - that we are completely incapable of doing, thinking, or wanting anything good (even wanting God in our lives), unless God makes us do it. That's adding things to the verse that aren't there. In fact, no version I checked said it like Calvin did. I'm not sure what version of the Bible he used, but why don't any of our other translations say it the way he did, if he is right in the way he's saying it? And if you have to add words to the Bible that aren't there, could it be because you are trying to support a teaching that isn't there? Just because we have a tendency towards something, doesn't mean it has to happen and that we are incapable of doing anything else. We can have intentions to do one thing, but choose to do another.
(However, Genesis 6:5 does say something like what Calvin said: "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuously." Maybe that's the verse he was referring to. But it is important to keep in mind whom God was referring to. He was referring to those on the earth at that time, the people who were demonic offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men. A demonically-inspired generation that was so wicked that God chose to flood the earth to cleanse it, to start over.)
Here are all the shorter posts so far that are taken from "Problems in John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion":
